266 ANNUAL EEPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Utilization of the Acala variety. — A superior type of upland cotton, 

 Acala, was discovered in southern Mexico in 1906, planted on a field 

 basis in Texas in 1911, and recommended for commercial cultivation 

 in 1916. From being a local favorite in Oklahoma and northern 

 Texas, Acala cotton has now attained such general popularity in the 

 United States that the problem of seed supplies has become acute. 

 On account of the demand and the wide scattering of the seed stocks 

 the danger of mixing with other varieties is increased. This inev- 

 itably takes place under the usual conditions of growing and ginning 

 different varieties together. Experience has shown that the reputa- 

 tion of superior varieties is likely to decline as soon as the seed is 

 mixed and ordinary commercial seed stocks are planted. Thus the 

 rapidly increasing popularity of the variety may lead to an equally 

 raj^id deterioration of the stock if adequate supplies of good seed 

 are not developed and maintained in communities that will grow 

 this variety exclusively. The development of such communities is 

 being encouraged and assisted by cooperation as far as possible. In 

 view of the promising results in the Southeastern States, this variety 

 seems likely to be grown over the full extent of the Cotton Belt, from 

 North Carolina to the San Joaquin Valley of California. 



A narr DID -leaved strain of Acala cotton. — A narrow-leaved varia- 

 tion of Acala cotton was discovered at San Antonio, Tex., by Row- 

 land M. Meade, who died in 1916. Selections at San Antonio and 

 Greenville, Tex., resulted in the production of a uniform narrow- 

 leaved stock as productive as the parent and with lint of equal or 

 superior quality. To increase the supply of seed as rapidly and as 

 safely as possible, the principal plantings were made in California 

 in 1922 and 1923. A small acreage in North Carolina in 1923 will 

 be followed by other experiments to determine adaptability. There 

 is reason to believe that plants of this type, with very open foliage, 

 may have advantages under weevil conditions, since the shade of 

 such plants is less continuous and the weevil larvpe in the fallen 

 squares are more exposed to heat and drying by direct sunlight 

 Also, the very distinctive type of foliage makes it very easy to 

 detect mixing or crossing with ordinarj^ broad-leaved varieties. 



Classing cotton in the field. — A preliminar}^ test in the Salt River 

 Valley in the season of 1922 showed that a system of judging the 

 quality of a known variety of cotton by field inspection not only 

 would be practicable but that more accurate and reliable discrimina- 

 tion is possible in this way than by the commercial method of class- 

 ing small samples from the bales. Though knowledge and skill are 

 required for prompt and accurate judgment regarding the behavior 

 and condition of the plants, the plants in the field are much more 

 accessible to observation than cotton in bales. Among the advan- 

 tages of field classing are the earlier information obtainable regard- 

 ing the condition and quality of the prospective crop, the more 

 definite recognition of mixed seed or irregular conditions in the 

 field, and the greater assurance of furnishing the manufacturers 

 with a staple of uniform quality, which is distinctly more valuable. 



Egyptian cotton hreeding. — Maintenance of the purity of the 

 seed of Pima cotton, of which a large supply is required for general 

 planting, has become a difficult problem since upland cotton has 

 begun to be grown extensively in the Salt River Valley. Assistance 

 lias been rendered, as heretofore, to the cooperative associations 



